Steve Jobs hated Android so much he once said Apple would never make an iTunes app for Android because he didn’t want to do anything that would make Android users happy. At yesterday’s WWDC keynote, Tim Cook sang a different tune by announcing Apple Music would be available on Android too. What he didn’t say was everyone with an Android phone is going to have to pay. Even for the free features.
Everyone that owns an iOS device will be able to listen to Beats 1 radio, view and follow artists on Connect, and even listen to other Apple Music radio stations with a limited number of skips. That doesn’t apply to Android users though according to the fine print on Apple’s site, which says “Apple Music for Android features are limited to paid members only.”
Here’s a full list of everything you get with your Apple Music membership:
Source: Apple
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
30 responses to “Apple Music’s cool free features will cost Android users $10 per month”
I agree. I can understand something like Beats Music being cross platform, but there was no need to make Apple Music available on Android, doesn’t make sense. Apple has 800 million of it’s own customers to market it to, why take it to other platforms as well? It’s not as if Apple is going to make much money out of it anyway, it’ll all go to the labels,
The reason why Microsoft and Apple are going cross platform is that it leads to more revenue in the long run. That’s why the cross platform trend exists in the first place.
Apple won’t make much money out of the music streaming business, if at all. Look at Spotify, it’s losing money every month and burning through investors cash, even with 15 million paying users. The labels are the only ones making money here. Apple has 800 million potential customers to sign up to it’s service so that’s why I don’t see the sense in moving to other platforms, unless it’s part of a deal with the record labels to pocket them more cash.
When iTunes came to PC and it was paramount to its success. Same strategy. They want to sell the service to everybody to generate the most money/most market share.
bringing iTunes to the PC was all about selling more iPods, the iTunes Music Store itself operated at just above break even. The same will be true of Apple Music on the money side of things, I guess bringing it to other platforms will enable them to gain more market share if anything else.
They are combining all the best of Google Play Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp/iTunes. Polished first rate music, full social sharing, releasing your own musical content to earn money (respectively), and an industry beating 6-person family license for $15/mo. They are certainly going to make money by volume if anything. All of the streaming services reach had its advantages but Apple music combines the best of each. This is why it was PARAMOUNT that it be a cross platform endeavor–the competitors Apple is trying to take by storm are all cross platform. No way would they succeed in the streaming industry without doing this.
Yes, but it broke even in the year of 2002 but in 2015 it makes profit and dominates the download market because it was on the PC. 60% of downloads are on iTunes. It’s a long term strategy.
Cross platform is the way of the future. That’s why Balmer was fired and Nadella hired. Even a company whose hardware comprises its main revenue could stand to benefit by spreading their presence/experience to competitors’ hardware.
For example, I now have slightly fuzzier feelings toward Microsoft even though I’m a Mac user, due to the polish of Office 2016 preview for Mac. This is better than being eternally pissed at Microsoft for denying Mac users their latest and greatest Office. *Maybe* buying Microsoft products is a helluva lot better than *never.*
Now I actually consider Microsoft products (and use their services across 3 different platforms) rather than write them off from the get go. The same could happen for Android users and Apple.
Why the hell not? The more Android users use Apple’s services, the more they’ll like Apple and buy Apple products.
You elitists make zero business sense.
Agreed.
Or theyll hate Apple even more, especielly since they have to pay what appleusers get for free, bad start.
Narp. They do not pay for what Apple users get for free at all. They pay the same rate for the advanced service that Apple users enjoy. They just don’t get the free basic service. Like how you get Spotify/Rdio + ads for free on desktop but you do not on mobile.
Androidusers don’t want to pay for anything anyway….
No one wants to pay for anything so welcome to the real world.
People will be less likely to switch if they have no firsthand exposure, subliminal or not, to Apple’s quality software and if the platforms are completely segregated. An ignorant fanboy like you, for instance, is a perfect result of that.
Its fine to make it for Android users. Its very likely not too many Android users will want to subscribe anyways. I can see why Windows Phone isn’t supported, there being so few actual users.
85% of smartphone users run Android phones partly because they are more accessible to own. That’s a huge market you cannot ignore.
Google Music is the highest quality service overall I’ve used so far, and it pays artists higher than Spotify, but its downfall is that it’s a mostly solitary experience. You simply cannot broadcast your listening activity to Facebook, nor can you explore your friends’ playlists or profiles or trade beats that fluidly. Apple Music addresses that (and Spotify’s issues) at a far more sustainable family/6-user price.
I’m sure many Android users will have no qualms about joining. If anything, Android users have always valued bang for buck.
Pretty dumb move. Sure Android users wont be buying Apple Music in droves, but look what happened to Instagram when it opened up to Android -the usage went through the roof! In order for Connect to work and be a social network, it needs the average person (ie Android users).
I think you’d be pleasantly surprised. Android users are known to seek getting the most for their money, and Apple music’s pricing and features are very attractive indeed. At the very least, the Apple music service will force competitors to innovate / not stay complacent.
Hope you’re right but Android users tend to hate anything Apple.
For the average user, not really. Tons of my friends use both. iPad + Android phone, Mac + Android phone, etc. With the iPad on iOS9 and split-screen functions, that’s the only tablet that makes sense for most. Whatever fits the job at any given time, really.
True.
Said the guy who called me Moron. Classic.
Entitled coz you feel entitled to insulting others and not receiving insults in return. Ironically, none of the “straw-men” or “ad-homs” phrases you regurgitated were used correctly. Haha, Jesus H Christ, you are twelve shades of dumb. No wonder why you hate Android users with such zealotry.